Rahul Gandhi accuses Modi govt of favoring monopolies, urges support for MSMEs

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday accused the Modi government of creating a "monopoly or duopoly" in every sector and called for putting the reins of India's economy back into the hands of MSMEs.

Gandhi said that during the Winter Session of Parliament, he met a delegation of small and medium ice cream manufacturers, and by listening to their problems, it became clear that the government is determined to destroy small businesses for the benefit of its favoured industrialists.

"Monopoly or duopoly is a curse for India — and the Modi government has been doing exactly this in every sector, every industry," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said in a post in Hindi on his WhatsApp channel.

"During the Jan Sansad (People's Parliament), I met with a delegation of small and medium-sized ice cream manufacturers. Talking to them and listening to their problems made it clear that the government is determined to destroy small businesses for the benefit of its favoured industrialists," Gandhi said.

The customers of these small ice cream manufacturers are the poor and lower middle-class people of India, he said. Gandhi pointed out that there are thousands of such small ice cream manufacturers across the country, providing employment to millions of people.

"The GST is so complex for these small businesses that it becomes difficult for them to bear the burden. This is why a special 'composition scheme' was created for small businesses, but the BJP government deliberately excluded ice cream from this scheme. At the same time, BJP-ruled states and municipal corporations have sharply increased fees," he said.

Faced with this onslaught of high taxes, increasing paperwork, and rising fees, small ice cream manufacturers are collapsing, Gandhi said, adding that today, they are hardly visible even at tourist spots like India Gate.

"This story is being repeated in every sector. Only the Prime Minister's favourite monopolists, who fund the BJP, survive — and in return, they get a complete monopoly over the market," he alleged.

"We must break this vicious cycle and put the strong reins of India's economy back into the hands of MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises), so that young people get jobs, the public gets affordable and quality options, and small businesses can become equal partners in the country's progress," Gandhi said.

In the video posted on Gandhi's channel, he said the problems being faced by small ice cream manufacturers are the same as every small and medium business in India is facing.

"If you want to create jobs for the people, small and medium businesses are the place where it is going to be done. What specifically Mr Narendra Modi does is to help monopolies crush these people," Gandhi alleged.

"When you hand monopoly power to somebody, you basically destroy the market. The monopolist can do whatever he wants, and there is no control over the manufacturers," he said.

Gandhi said he feels it is important to give preference to small and medium industries, and they are looked after because they have a space in the economy.

"There is a reason why Mr Narendra Modi is ensuring that monopolies are built. It is because that is the easiest way for him to find the BJP — these poor fellows, they don't have access to him, they don't have access to his offices, so they can't basically finance the BJP," he said.

Gandhi alleged that the BJP is creating monopolies everywhere, and while the largest ones are Adani and Ambani, in every sector, they have done so.

"This is dangerous for the country, it weakens the structure of the country, and it ensures a large number of Indian youngsters are unemployed," Gandhi said.